Awhile back, the boys at Handsome Phantom were talking about their favorite DLCs. Mining my personal conversations for web content has become second nature, so I sat down to write about some of our personal favorites. The list got pretty damn long, and it felt like a crime to leave out some of the best. We’re gonna present to Handsome Phantom readers installments of some of the best expansions in gaming.
This week we’re starting off with one of the titans of the games industry: Blizzard Entertainment. Founded in 1991, Blizzard has launched franchises with huge, dedicated fan followings. Blizzard has a history of following up popular titles with quality post-launch content. Let’s take a look at some of the greatest hits from their cornerstone franchises.
-
StarCraft: Brood War (1998)
Brood War offered up a fresh experience for StarCraft fans that critics at the time felt nearly qualified as a sequel. The new campaign expanded the lore of the series, both in its gameplay and the hefty player manual it came with. This is one of those good old days when getting the manual for the game was almost as exciting as the game itself.
It’s great that Brood War offered up so much content, because fans wouldn’t see a new entry in the franchise for twelve years. Twelve years. Let me say that again, because it’s insane. Twelve years between entries for a hugely popular game. StarCraft: Brood War was the pro-gamer title in South Korea for over a decade, and can still be found on streaming sites being played to death. Except it never dies. Blizzard makes games that fans obsess over. For twelve years Brood War was it for StarCraft fans. For any game to have that sort of longevity is incredible. Brood War offered post-launch content that set the standard for Blizzard Entertainment.
Nostalgic gamers can go here to download and play the original game for free. Fans who want a bit more of an updated experience but don’t want to jump into StarCraft II can nab a remastered StarCraft, available from Blizzard for $14.99. Go ahead, indulge your nostalgia. I won’t tell anyone.
-
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (2001)
Diablo II was the only game my family ever really played together. My Dad purchased the game new, having played the original Diablo a few years prior, and it slowly infected our household down the ranks from oldest to youngest. Dad played a barbarian. The two oldest brothers mained necromancers, and I became a veteran paladin. The base game was perfect to us. When the Lord of Destruction expansion came out, we all shared our excitement together, and it was a constant battle for who would get to play when.
The new classes, a druid and an assassin, felt wildly different from the base game. Act V offered a resolution to the story of Diablo and his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal. The latter of which we were chasing through the ruins of the barbarian homeland to keep him from corrupting a mystical McGuffin called the World Stone. Lord of Destruction revolutionized the vanilla game and brought in a sea of new players. In the early 2000’s this was a standard for post-launch content that was rarely met.
An honorable mention goes out to the Reaper of Souls expansion for Diablo III. As a paladin player from Diablo II, it was great to step into the shoes of a faithful of Zakarum once more as a Crusader. The new Act V had a unique feel reminiscent of Bloodborne or H.P. Lovecraft. Adventure Mode, the new end game content, provided a more enjoyable way to grind loot and levels with your pals. Not to mention this version of the game brought Blizzard successfully to consoles (we don’t count StarCraft 64 or Diablo for PS1), opening the way for Overwatch and hopefully more titles as we go forward. I’m looking at you, Heroes of the Storm.
-
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003)
World of Warcraft has been around for nearly thirteen years. It’s the beautiful swan that all ugly duckling MMOs want to be. I remember playing vanilla Warcraft for hours. Then the Burning Crusade expansion came out and I was dragged right back into it. When the Lich King expansion debuted, I had all my saved, teenage money ready to purchase the content and a month subscription to WoW. Even more content has come out since then, and World of Warcraft is still plodding along it’s happy route.
But we’re here to talk about the Frozen Throne. Before it’s days as a online role playing game, young gamers might not know that Warcraft was a strategy game. The Frozen Throne expansion in 2003 set the foundation for much of the world that Warcraft gamers today take for granted. The Draenei introduced here would return later in Burning Crusade. The Forsaken under the leadership of Sylvanas Windrunner was born under the ruins of Lordaeron. Players stepped into the shoes of the orcs founding Durotar, see the rise of Jaina Proudmoore, and Arthas would become the new Lich King, completing his fall from grace.
Non-Warcraft players or Heroes of the Storm players probably read the above as a lot of nonsense. Most gamers are probably more aware of Warcraft from this satirical episode of South Park. Like it or not, World of Warcraft has been a staple of gaming for over a decade, and is an important franchise for gamers the world over. The Frozen Throne is an expansion pack whose lore and story echoes into millions of gamers lives today. There aren’t many DLC packs that can claim even close to that level of influence.
-
Overwatch: Year One (2016-2017)
Overwatch is a game that took the world by storm. What started as an MMO morphed into a 6v6 team-based shooter with over 30 million players and a burgeoning pro-gamer community. The subreddit is a massive place filled with Play of the Game gifs, fan art, lore theories, and salty gamers with creative suggestions to buff or nerf characters.
In the first year of its life, Overwatch released three new characters, seasonal events, maps, and new game modes. It’s rare to see a game offer up so much quality content for free, and it’s been a fun ride. You can read our celebration of Year One right here. While not a traditional expansion like some others on the list, the game has changed significantly since launch. Not to mention the newest short about everybody’s bae, Mei. Check it out here on Youtube and prepare to feel some feels. As a gamer, it’s easy to be cynical about profit-driven companies. A massive studio like Blizzard offering so much after launch, at a price point of zero, is pretty dang cool.
Blizzard has offered quality updates to free titles Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone as well. Their massive success over the years hasn’t kept them from maintaining an above average relationship with players, whether through free content or paid DLC. Every one of Blizzard’s current games have either recently received new content, or are flooded with rumors of what’s in store. So, if the last twenty years have been any indication, gamers can look forward to some great new experiences in their favorite worlds.
But we want to know what you think! What’s your favorite Blizzard expansion? World of Warcraft has had tons of content updates, what was your favorite? What other expansions do you hope we’ll shout out next? Can we please get Heroes of the Storm on consoles? Blizzard fans should definitely check out our Platted That! for Diablo III. Let Handsome Phantom know your thoughts and you could get a shout out on Adventure Mode!
